The Importance Of Cancer Screening For The Right Cancers
The key to successful treatment and maximum life-expectancy is getting early cancer screenings, but with more than 100 different types of cancer, the question is which are the ones it is most useful to screen for. Depending on your biology and lifestyle, you could be susceptible to a broad range of cancers, so take the time to speak to your medical professional to understand what you’re at risk for.
To guide your conversation with your doctor, we have prepared this article highlighting a few common forms of cancer and who is most at risk for them. Read on to learn more.
Gender-specific Cancers
There are certain cancers that only people with specific anatomical features will suffer from. Cervical cancer can only affect those with a cervix, for example. These cancers are often extremely lethal, and patients susceptible to them will be well briefed on the risk factors and the possible consequences of negligence, so screening for these types of cancer is usually quite common. Cancers under this category include testicular, cervical, prostate and ovarian cancer.
Lifestyle-specific Cancers
Many external and environmental factors have been credibly linked to an increased risk of certain kinds of cancer. These factors can be as diverse as how much and what kind of activity we do, how much and what kind of food we eat, what job we do and where we do it, and so on. If you’re a current smoker or someone with a history of a smoking, you will want to take the time for regular lung cancer screening. Even if you’ve stopped smoking years ago, your risk of lung cancer will never drop to that of a non-smoker, so keeping up on your screening could stand you in better stead health-wise.
Equally, those who work outside such as labourers or gardeners will want to be screened for melanomas and other skin cancers, as catching these early can be the difference between a relatively short period of surgical treatment and a more protracted program.
Age-specific Cancers
As we age, we run an increased risk of contracting certain kinds of cancers. These can be affected by aforementioned lifestyle factors, but many cancers are simply more common in senior and elderly people. Common cancers to look for are colon, rectal and bowel cancer – all of which should be screened for regularly in people over the age of 50.